Giuliana Rancic, like so many others, is still grieving the loss of legendary talk show host and comedienne Joan Rivers.
During her recent interview with ABC News, she opened up about her friendship with Rivers and her daughter Melissa.
The 40-year-old television personality revealed how Rivers’ death personally affected her. Rancic also recounted the last time she interacted with Rivers before her death on Sept. 4.
“It was the shock of a lifetime, it really was,” Rancic, 40, told ABC News of Rivers’ passing on Sept. 4.
“I had just seen Joan 48 hours before her procedure. We were taping the Emmy Fashion Police show and she was honestly better than ever and she even looked better than ever at 81.”
She also revealed she’d complimented Rivers just hours before the surgery, which led to the brief discussion of her displeasure with flattery.
“She wasn’t one to ever take a compliment, but she didn’t say ‘Stop it’ that day. She just kind of smiled and said, ‘Thank you,'” Rancic explained.
“I’ll never forget that, that moment. When this all happened, that was one of the first things I thought about, I just remember thinking, ‘I’m just so happy we told her that day once again how much we love her and how beautiful she is, both inside and out.'”
Rancic and Rivers had been working together on the E! series Fashion Police since 2009. Now, Rancic and her fellow co-hosts Kelly Osborne and George Kotsiopoulos must move on without her. Rancic cited how difficult that will be because of the legacy and impact Rivers made.
“I still think she’s going to walk through the door and yell, ‘Giuliana, get back to work.’ And it’s hard to wrap my mind around never seeing her again,” she continued. “Joan really was larger than life. I think that’s a reason I can’t imagine her gone.”
She went on to discuss Rivers’ daughter, Melissa. Rancic revealed she is a dominant factor for the future of the series.
“Melissa was Joan’s world. I’ve been friends with Melissa a really long time and I’m just trying to help her out,” she continued. “They are looking at different scenarios, whether it moves forward or it doesn’t,” Rancic said candidly.
“Melissa… a lot of that will be up to her and how she’s feeling and how she decides what she wants to do, along with the execs here at E! There is no word now… they are seeing what ‘Fashion Police’ looks like without Joan.”
